This invention relates generally to containers for vegetation and, more particularly, to vesels which automatically provide liquid to the vegetation held by the vessel.
Containers are frequently utilized to hold growing vegetation, such as flowers, house plants, and the like. A plant is supported in such a vessel by a suitable medium, such as potting soil, and the vessel is placed in a location where the vegetation will receive suitable light for proper growth. Also essential for the adequate growth of the plant is a sufficient supply of a liquid such as water. In the simplest type of plant vessel, the water supply must be provided by the person caring for the plant, who pours water into the vessel when it appears necessary. When this method is used, care must be taken to ensure that the plant receives neither too little water, in which case it might dry out, nor too much water, in which case the roots of the plant might rot.
In order to provide such vegetation with the proper amount of moisture, and in an attempt to reduce the amount of attention which must be given to such plants, devices have been proposed to provide some form of automatic watering for container vegetation. In some of these devices, a first container is used for storing a reservoir of liquid, which may include water as well as other nutrients, such as liquid fertilizers. A second container for supporting the vegetation is arranged so that some means of communication between the reservoir of liquid and the roots of the vegetation is provided, thereby permitting a flow of the liquid from the reservoir in the first container to the roots in the second container.
In some such automatic watering devices, an upper container holding the vegetation is adapted to include a portion which fits inside a lower container in which the liquid is stored. This portion of the upper container is arranged to project downwardly into the liquid, and one or more openings provided in this portion permit the liquid to pass into the upper container and thence to the roots of the plant, where the moisture may be absorbed by the vegetation.
Although such devices may reduce the number of times a container plant must be watered, it is also desirable to control the amount of liquid which is permitted to flow to the roots of the vegetation planted therein. Thus self-watering pots have been proposed which include a member resting in a reservoir of liquid, the member having an opening of a preselected dimension through which the liquid is permitted to pass. In such designs, the flow passages for the liquid are to be made variable in size by the provision of some adjustment means, such as insertable disks of different sizes or of varying porosity. Such adjustment provisions as are proposed, however, require disassembly of the vessel to change component parts and alter the liquid flow rate. Therefore, it is desirable to provide such a vessel for containing vegetation in which the automatic supply of liquid to the vegetation may be regulated without the need for disassembling the vessel and exhanging parts.
Because of the multiple container design inherent in such self-watering vessels, as well as the need to store a reservoir of liquid within the vessel, such vessels normally present a volume available for holding a plant and soil which is less than the comparable volume which would be available in a conventional flower pot of similar external dimensions. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain a vessel for containing and automatically watering vegetation which will maximize the available volume for holding the vegetation within a vessel of a given overall size.
Because of the multiple component pieces which normally are included as part of such a self-watering vessel, such vessels frequently are relatively expensive to ship and handle. Thus, it is desirable to provide such a vessel for containing vegetation which may be compactly stored and packaged for shipping and handling purposes.
Such automatic vessels periodically require filling to maintain the supply of liquid contained therein. In some such designs, it is difficult to ascertain whether additional liquid is required without partially disassembling the container. Thus, it is desirable to provide such a vessel with a means for visually ascertaining the level of liquid contained therein without the need for disassembling the vessel.
Depending upon the type of vegetation contained in such a vessel, it may be desirable at times to eliminate the automatic feature of such a vessel and thereby permit watering of the vegetation by conventional means. Thus, it is desirable to provide such a vessel with a control which will shut off the automatic device for providing liquid to the vegetation.
In some such vessel designs, it is possible to over-water the plant contained therein by overfilling the container reservoir with liquid. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide an automatic vessel for vegetation which cannot be overfilled with liquid.